RECOVERY and EXTRA workouts

Folks, whatever your PRIMARY workout each day should be your focus. People think that they need to do extra workouts EVERY day to get faster results. This is simply not true.

Realize that your body has a FINITE amount of energy to repair/build muscle and recover from your workouts. If you are applying the PROPER intensity to your workouts, you don't need to do ANYTHING else. Every time you do additional workouts during the day you are taking away from your body's ability to recovery.

SIMPLE RULE: NO RECOVERY = NO PROGRESS Make no mistake about this.

Remember my Note a few weeks ago about Leaning out by adding muscle? How can you add muscle if your body can't recover from 2 workouts a day?

RECOVERY is the key to EVERYTHING folks.

Think of your body like a Bank account:

Your RECOVERY is deposits in the Bank. Your workouts are withdrawals from the Bank.

What happens when your withdrawals outnumber your deposits?

We need to be stronger EVERY day. You can't get stronger if you can't recover from your workouts.

Realize that building metabolism enhancing muscle will get you leaner FASTER than tons of EXTRA cardio will.

I will give you an excellent example: ME

During my first round of the P90X I was doing the EIFB (Extreme Interval Fat Burner) almost daily during the last 30 days in an effort to get as lean as possible.

I did get very lean, and I also got down to 168 lbs. Too light for my frame. I burned precious muscle in an effort to lean out.

Lets compare this to my current strategy to lean out for my end of year in 2007.

I did NO extra cardio in my efforts to lean out. I was getting STRONGER every workout and giving each workout 100%.

Emphasizing getting stronger, building muscle, and RECOVERING has made all the difference in the world for me.

Here are some thoughts on RECOVERY:

Workouts provide the stimulus for change; the change itself (an improvement in fitness level) takes place during the periods between workouts. How quickly and completely this recovery takes place is result of many commonly overlooked factors, including specific dietary habits, supplementation, age and personal stress levels, just to name a few.

Factors That Effect Recovery Rates

Age - Older individuals will need longer recovery periods than their younger counterparts. It is suggested that around 25 years old is when most trainees will need to start to allow for longer recovery periods.

Experience - More experienced trainees will need less recovery time than new trainees will.

Psychological Factors - Never underestimate the power of the mind. Work, finances, personal relationships and basic everyday life can all cause stress. If left unchecked stress can have very powerful physical manifestations - headaches, insomnia and an increase in catabolic hormones such as cortisol, just to name a few.

Replenishment of Nutrients - The availability of key micro- and macronutrients in a person's nutrition will have a large impact on recovery.

While not usually considered therapeutic, nutrition plays a huge role in the speed and completeness of recovery. Your body needs raw materials to repair and restore bodily systems stressed by training and without adequate nutrition those materials will not be available. Vitamins, minerals, water, protein, carbs and fats must all be present in proper amounts in order for the body to fully recover from training.

A deficiency in even one key nutrient could slow this process down greatly, if not grind it to a complete halt. Proper nutrition can not be stressed enough when talking about the overall success of a fitness program and most trainees' frustration about their lack of progress can be traced back to this recovery factor.

RECOVERY folks...How is yours?

BALANCE ~ IN YOUR FITNESS AND YOUR LIFE

Attaining and maintaining balance in Life is the biggest challenge facing many people today. Balance is maintaining a healthy, consistent lifestyle on a daily basis in mind, and body, regardless of your situation or circumstance.

Keep your Mind Balanced

A balanced mind means that you are aware of your thoughts and the things that you choose to think about. Many folks allow their mind to wander throughout the day. The goal is to enjoy each day as if it were your last. In order to cultivate this thought process, your thoughts have to be focused on the present moment.

Yesterday is in the past. There is nothing we can do to go back and change what has already happened. Learn from your mistakes. When you dwell on failure you can trigger depressive feelings such as regret. Work through these feelings and let them go. If we let what happened in the past impact today in negative ways, we remain locked to the past. ALWAYS move forward!

Another place that we allow our thoughts to wander is when we think of the future. These thoughts will cause feelings of anxiety, fear of the unknown and unnecessary pressure. Thoughts of the future, beyond planning and goal setting, can also take away from your focus on the moment and keep you off balance. The reality is that we can only take forward steps toward our goals in the hours that we are awake. Take each day, one at a time. Each day is an opportunity and a gift, which is why they call it the present, an old saying that makes a heck of a lot of sense! To attain and maintain balance in your mind, keep your thoughts focused on the present.

Keep Your Body Balanced

A balanced body involves exercise, proper nutrition, enough sleep and an overall healthy lifestyle. Workout hard 6 days a week and you will do your strength, cardiovascular Fitness, and flexibility a world of good! Exercise releases natural endorphins that help your body to relax and feel good. Don't focus too heavily on any one discipline. Strength without an efficient cardiovascular system is not good and if you neglect your flexibility you are doing your body and Fitness a HUGE disservice. The overall physical goal that we should be striving for is to be ready for any physical activity at any time. Swimming, running a long distance or sprinting, climbing, lifting weights, Yoga, hiking, etc. Be ready for all of it, at any time!

Monitoring your daily food intake and becoming aware of the types of food that your body needs and best responds to also helps you attain and maintain your balance. Focus on eating nutritious, healthy foods that you enjoy. Proper nutrition doesn't need to be complicated. This will allow you to stay disciplined over the long haul. This is essential in being healthy for a lifetime!

Another essential element in maintaining balance is getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Most people do not get enough sleep. When you get your rest, you recover from your workout more efficiently, your mood improves, and you are more mentally alert. Get a good nights rest and feel the difference!

Limit your intake of alcohol, drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, don't smoke, take nutritional supplements that help you push towards your Fitness goals.

When you try and keep a balance in your life, good things happen....

by Mike French

TAKE YOUR FITNESS PERSONALLY!

There is a mindset that moves you closer to your Fitness goals. It's a positive, aggressive mindset and we need to try and cultivate this mindset every day in regards to making progress towards our Fitness goals.

NEVER use the word CAN'T. If you think you will never achieve six pack abs or do 10 pull-ups, guess what? You never will! Focus and visualize your goals until you SEE them happening in your mind. Concentrate so hard on succeeding that you can actually FEEL what it will be like to achieve them. Then GO OUT AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!

You know who determines your Fitness success? You do! No one else! Not your Wife/Husband, children, Family, NO ONE BUT YOU!! Don't blame anyone but yourself if you eat something that sets you back. YOU control your Fitness destiny!

One of the greatest motivators in the world is proving someone wrong that doubts you. It happens everyday. "You will never have a six pack." "You can't eat like that for the rest of your life." EVERYONE has someone like this in their life. It might be a co-worker, a best friend or the person that is most important to you in the world. Internalize that doubt and turn it into FIRE !

Use that negative energy as fuel for your workouts, nutrition, and supplementation.

Who cares if you get funny looks or comments because you brought your supplements and a protein bar to a Family gathering. When the Office is having a pizza party and you are drinking extra water and eating chicken breast and brown rice, look at them and smile. They are taking time off their lives, and you are adding to yours!

Take the attitude that NO MATTER WHAT, you will not quit on yourself. U.S. Navy Seals cultivate this attitude. It doesn't matter how difficult the task, they are going to accomplish it.

We need to do the same. How difficult is eating clean all day? How difficult is working out HARD for 50 minutes? IT IS ONLY AS DIFFICULT AS YOU MAKE IT IN YOUR OWN MIND!

Would you rather eat clean all day and reap the Fitness benefits or weakly eat a "Little something" that ruins your entire days nutrition in less than 2 minutes?

Am I saying NEVER eat treats? Of course not!

The difference is in the choice. If we choose to have a treat because we EARNED one from a TON of hard work, that is fine because we made that choice. When you give in to eating a slice of cake or "just a couple of cookies" on impulse just before bed time, that is where you have an issue.

Get "ANGRY" folks. There is nothing wrong with using properly channeled anger to push your Fitness forward. The anger needs to be controlled and focused. When you can let it loose in your training in a focused manner, you have an energy that can be described! It's like you drank a Keg of espresso! Its an amazing feeling and near magical things can happen when you let it loose!

Is Plyo [or insert your most dreaded routine] on the schedule for your workout? Get ANGRY! Think to yourself "Ok PLYO, it's you and me today! I'm not backing down from you! Give me your best shot because you are going to get mine!" Conquer your workout! Don't be apprehensive or think, "Wow, this is going to hurt." Attack your workout! Tell yourself "Is this the toughest workout you could come up with? I OWN this workout and I'm going to use it as a tool to MAKE ME BETTER....TODAY!"

Have a confident swagger in regards to your Fitness and nutrition. I know people that look at meals as an athletic event. It's inspiring to see. They makes proper choices and then eats A LOT of the foods that push his Fitness forward. Same with their workouts. They aggressively push as hard as they can. They fight self doubt, insecurity, and fear with every rep. Do the same!

It's all a choice Team. You can use some positive, motivating ANGER and push your Fitness forward or you can be someone on their "6th Round of the X" that looks like they still need to complete their first. Which is it going to be?

The Thermogenic Effect of Foods We Eat

When I say "thermogenic," many people instantly think of fat burning supplements or exotic herbs, green tea, etc., which are designed to ramp up your metabolism and burn off body fat.

Concentrating on tiny details (especially before you’ve mastered the basics of nutrition) is putting the cart before the horse. It’s like getting excited by the (misguided) idea that drinking enough ice cold water is "thermogenic" and is going to get you ripped because the body has to "warm it up" and that expends energy... when meanwhile, people are skipping meals, drinking beer on weekends and working out sporadically. This makes no sense to me. We need to look at the big picture.

ALL foods are "thermogenic" because the body must use energy to digest them. This is known as the "thermic effect of food" (TEF). When you say "thermogenic food" to me, I think of REAL, WHOLE FOODS.

The most thermogenic fat burning food is lean protein from solid foods, especially the following:

• chicken breast
• turkey breast
• bison, buffalo
• very lean red meat such as top round and lean sirloin
• almost all types of fish
• shellfish and other seafood
• egg whites (limit the yolks)

Protein powders are conveneint and some - like WHEY - even have functional properties (as antioxidants and immune boosters), but powders aren't as thermogenic as real food. They are easily broken down by the body.

Focusing on highly thermogenic WHOLE foods (and not a lot of shakes or powdered drink mixes) can really crank up your metabolism due to the thermic effect of whole food.

It’s commonly known that of all the macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), lean protein has the highest thermic effect.

I believe the thermic effect of protein is even higher than most people realize.

When you combine thermogenic lean protein foods with the right amounts and types of essential fats, add in plenty of green vegetables and just the right amount of natural starchy carbs and whole grains, your body will literally turn into a turbo-charged fat burning machine. - without eliminating food groups (carbs).

Select a green vegetable or fibrous vegetable such as asparagus, green beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, salad vegetables, etc., and then combine that with one of the lean proteins (mentioned above).

That is the foundation of your fat burning meal (lean protein + fibrous carb). From there, add: Starchy carbs or grains such as brown rice, oats, or sweet potatoes Fruit is also quite acceptable (Nature's Candy)

Make sure to focus more on the green and fibrous vegetables due to their lower caloric density.
Eat most of your carbs (starches and grains and simple sugars) early in the day and right after your weight training - the two times when insulin sensitivity is at it's highest.

Follow these simple rules and reap the amazing benefits of the Thermogenic effects of food!

by Mike French

BEYOND 90 DAYS...FITNESS FOR A LIFETIME!

Our Society is obsessed with Fitness and Nutrition. There are new workout programs and nutrition “miracles” being produced everyday. Some people have decided that Fitness just “isn’t for them”.

Our Society has grown to accept that is “ok” to be sluggish and overweight. Eating whatever people want and wondering why they feel and look worse, month after month.

People find every excuse to eat something they shouldn’t or to skip a workout. “When I get home from work, I just don’t have the energy to workout.” “Its too expensive to eat healthy.”

My personal favorite is “I just don’t have the time to workout.” LOL! I have the same 24 hours that that person does and I manage to work a full and part time job, give my wife and son the attention they deserve, and workout EVERYDAY!

People are constantly looking for the “Secret” or something that will give them that extra edge. Doesn’t matter if it’s a diet, workout or supplement. “THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE FITNESS IS YOUR BODY, A MINDSET OF REFUSING TO QUIT, AND WHOLE HEALTHY FOODS THAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY.”

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to use science as a crutch to make up for lack of workout effort and nutritional discipline. An example of this is someone that uses a “Fat Burner” and their Nutrition isn’t spot on. It's like eating a combination pizza and a “Diet” soda…What’s the point?

There is a saying that I absolutely love:

YOU CAN'T OUTRUN A BAD DIET!

What does this mean? You can't burn enough calories in a day to make up for poor nutritional choices. The calories it takes you an hour to burn can be ingested in 30 seconds! Not really fair, but it's the hand we have been given!

Want me to make it simple?

EXERCISE REGULARLY AND EAT HEALTHY FOODS IN MODERATION

Do both of those things every day, for the rest of your life. Stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own Fitness!!!

The Key to real Health and Fitness is consistency. Most people lack the commitment to get in shape and really make a difference in their lives.

We live in a world of fast food results. We want our food NOW! (Why do fast food restaurants serve more people daily than any other type of restaurant? Why do people continue to eat there, even though they KNOW for a fact that there is nothing that could be worse for them and their health?) We want results NOW! When it doesn't happen we get frustrated and start looking for other ways to do it.

We want the quick fix. Six Pack Abs in 6 weeks! Get ripped for summer with the latest routine and diet in Muscle & Fitness magazine. Magazines LOADED with the latest supplements to add muscle, get rid of fat quicker than the next guy. Are they concerned with our health or making money? Clearly it is the ladder.

That is why Beachbody Products are such a blessing for all of us. Fitness first. REAL programs and supplements that WORK! We need to think beyond 90 days from now. Think 5, 10, 20 years from now!

All that really matters is how long we live and how healthy we are during that lifespan. Our health is precious and we need to take care of it.

Do everything TODAY to give yourself the best chance to live a long and productive life. Then replicate it tomorrow!

Fitness success comes from relentless hard work. Once you have it, you need to work to keep it. If you don’t it leaves allot quicker than it took to achieve it. Train hard. Be proud of your Fitness and don't apologize for it!

Get in shape and then NEVER put yourself in a position where you have to “Get back in shape.”

Train to be ready for ANYTHING that might come your way. Running, swimming, and obstacle course, a pick up football game at a Family Reunion.

I hope it never happens to any of us but what are we going to do if we have to swim out into the ocean to save a loved one, or your Family is involved in a car accident and you are forced to “run” to get assistance? Will you be ready? That is not the time to wish you had paid your dues with your workouts and nutrition.

Granted, those are worst case scenarios but if you prepare for the worst, you will be prepared for anything.

Build strong, flexible, muscles, improve your cardiovascular Fitness, and burn calories.

LEAN AND MEAN rules the day.

CHALLENGE your heart and lungs everyday! True “MASS APPEAL” is a lean, trim, physique with long flexible muscles. It contributes to our overall health and longevity and makes us look and feel better!

WE CAN GET LEAN AND STAY LEAN ONCE WE HAVE COMMITTED TO TRAINING FOR LIFE.

Don't let your GOALS become your limits. It's easy to “relax” once you have achieved a goal. Don't waste time and let what you have achieved slip away slowly. Set new goals and then set out to accomplish them! Move forward and really see what you are made of and what you can accomplish!

One of my favorite quotes:

“YOU KNOW WHY I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY GOAL? BECAUSE YOU SAID I COULDN'T DO IT!”

It's not how much weight you lift, it's how hard you work when you lift it. Remember, we are not just training for today but for many years down the road. Pay particular attention to your ABS and lower back. Your CORE is the key to your future health and fitness.

What you do today affects the rest of your life. We want to look and feel good right now, but we also want to look and feel good when we are eighty. Our lives are the sum total of our daily activities.

Are your activities going to be positive and healthy, or negative and unhealthy? The choice is ours.

What should be EVERYONE’S goal?

GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

Strive for daily improvement. Vow to get better every day. Forget about the past and don’t worry about the future. Concentrate on the present, what you can control RIGHT NOW.

If you improve your Fitness today, the future will take care of itself...

Even the best exercise plan can be destroyed by eating too much or eating the wrong types of foods. Eating a dessert can add more calories than you could hope to burn in an intense hour long workout.

Scary as it is, you could ruin your entire day of nutrition and hard work in your workouts in less than 5 minutes by eating junk food.

Exercise: Body Weight
130 lbs. 155 190
Calories Burned in 1 hour
Calisthenics (such as Total Body PLUS, a P90X+ routine), vigorous effort 472 593 690

(1) 100 gram Kit Kat Candy bar has the following “Nutritional Value”
a. 520 calories
b. 32 grams of fat
c. 46 grams of sugar

Depending on your body weight by eating ONE candy bar you have exceeded or almost exceeded ONE hour of a Butt Kicking workout like Total Body Plus.

It doesn’t need to be a candy bar. It could be a forkful of our kids macaroni and cheese followed by a “small” chocolate and “Only one soda”. It all adds up and before you know it you have taken in hundreds of extra calories that you don’t need.

Believe me, I know because I did the same thing. I had to fight each day to reclaim my “Abs” and conditioning. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

No more excuses. No more , “Well it was only something small, it won’t hurt me.” You better believe it will. Make no mistake about that. Once you get into the habit of having “something small” every once in while, it quickly becomes every day.

Am I saying NEVER eat cake or candy again? Of course not. Make it a special treat, like at a Birthday Party or Holiday, not something you do because you are bored.

No More Excuses, make a difference in your future...TODAY!

A HUGE factor in Adding Muscle Mass

...Neuroendocrine Adaptation

Neuroendocrine adaptation is a change in the body that affects you either neurologically or hormonally.

Most important adaptations to exercise are in part or completely a result of a hormonal or neurological shift. Current research, much of it done by Dr. William Kraemer, Penn State University, has shown which exercise protocols maximize neuroendocrine responses.

I’ve been known to be critical of isolation movements as being ineffectual. Due to current research and testing we now know why - one of the critical elements missing from these movements is that they invoke essentially no neuroendocrine response.

Among the hormonal responses vital to athletic development are substantial increases in testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, and human growth hormone. Exercising with protocols known to elevate these hormones eerily mimics the hormonal changes sought in exogenous hormonal therapy (steroid use) with none of the deleterious effect.

Exercise regimens that induce a high neuroendocrine response produce champions! Increased muscle mass and bone density are just two of many adaptative responses to exercises capable of producing a significant neuroendocrine response.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the neuroendocrine response to exercise protocols. Heavy load weight training, short rest between sets, high heart rates, high intensity training, and short rest intervals, though not entirely distinct components, are all associated with a high neuroendocrine response.